anyone been to aquarena? (Spring, San Marcos: spring break, amusement park, house)

[wdwmom2]

is it worth it? any info or pics? thanks

[mrsengle]

Aquarena Springs in San Marcos - I'm guessing that's what you're talking about. If so, yes I have been there. I did a scientific diving certification course there years ago. I have a free pass to go diving there whenever I want for cleanup efforts.

I went through the exhibit they have there, and it was okay. Nothing terrific. They used to have glass-bottom boats, but the hydrilla (sp?) was really overgrown, so I think they stopped it for a while. I haven't been there in a long time, so it may be bigger with more to do. At one point, there were albino catfish in the springs. It is also the site of one of the oldest (if not THE oldest) arechaeological 'digs' in North America. I thought it was interesting, especially since I got to dive there. I certainly wouldn't call it a waste of an afternoon. If nothing else, it was never crowded when I went - it was rather peaceful.

[Driftwood1]

We have taken our kids a couple of times, as recently as last May..
The university appears to have taken it over, and re-vamped alot of it. The glass bottom boats were running and the kids loved it, but the 2 and under might find the boat ride a little long... 35 min I think. The aquarium is tiny and old but the kids will spend a few min inside.
There's also a neat walkway constructed out over the lagoon where you can see large fish and turtles n birds.. and its safe enough for the toddlers..
The shop is ok, I try to skip over it though so I dont have to buy any toys !

So for kids 3 and up I say its worth about 2 hours.. free entry, but the boats you need to pay for..

I would have loved to see the park back in the day when the Gondola and Submarine were still in use... one of the most artistic Gondolas I have ever seen.. its still there, just not running..

At the very least its an extremely unique place..

As you can tell by my post, we go for the kids, adults might find it a bit less interesting..

Hope this helps
Cheers

[Trainwreck20]

If you go diving there, you will see some enormous prawns...scare ya the first time you see them .

In the old days, they had Ralph, the swimming pig and a bunch of 'mermaids' .

[mrsengle]

Originally Posted by Trainwreck20

If you go diving there, you will see some enormous prawns...scare ya the first time you see them .

In the old days, they had Ralph, the swimming pig and a bunch of 'mermaids' .

I did my first night dive there, and a garfish swam in front of me - scared the crap out of me!! Then, my tank got caught up in the hydrilla and I couldn't get loose. It was really dark down there, and my partner swam a little ways before he realized he had lost me. I didn't panic, but man I wished I'd had a knife with me.

[Trainwreck20]

A little off topic, but for anyone diving there, it is a wet suit dive (for most normal humans) and the hardness of the water makes the buoyancy about the same as salt water. Since most of the diving is very shallow (~20-30 feet, sometimes less) it is not a highly recommended dive for beginning divers because of the constant buoyancy adjustments that are required.

On the other hand, there are little to no crowds diving (since you need a guide and an entry fee) and there is some really nice aquatic life.

[pilotskid27]

Originally Posted by wdwmom2

is it worth it? any info or pics? thanks

I took my 5-year-old son there for a quick, last minute spring break getaway last year. It is a perfect diversion for a kid that age.

Loved the glass-bottom boats! Took lots of photos, but mostly of his little fingers pointing to something out of view under the glass bottom boat! The tour is an interesting mix of science, area history, and pop culture (The movie Paranah was filmed there.) And the area around the lake is beautiful, so you can enjoy the boat ride on a couple of different levels.

I agree with the other posters that the aquarium is not much to see...and I wish there were a way to skip the gift shop ("Mom--I want....!"), but you have to go in there to buy the tickets for the boats.

We visited aquarena in the morning, went to that cute, antique shop/ burger joint on I35 for lunch--Centerpoint Station(?), and in the afternoon, headed up the street to Wonderworld Caverns for the afternoon. (The anti-gravity house was the big hit there.)

It turned out to be a great, age-appropriate day out, with a little education thrown in. There were no large crowds or long lines, and I don't remember the cost, so it must have been fairly reasonable. (As opposed to a major amusement park--geez!)

So, even I got to relax and enjoy the day. I loved the low-key charm of the whole experience...neither place tries to be something they are not. There is no slick marketing tie-in to national advertisers. They are just good, old-fashioned local amusement venues....a little cheesy, but a lot of fun!

[loves2read]

my daughter went to SWT-refuse to use that new name--and took scuba diving for one of her pe classes--that is where she did her final dive--did not realize it was that much difficulty....

[Trainwreck20]

It is always a good idea to learn at a difficult place, imho . Then, you are ready for just about anything.

[gigi927]

Originally Posted by pilotskid27

I took my 5-year-old son there for a quick, last minute spring break getaway last year. It is a perfect diversion for a kid that age.



We visited aquarena in the morning, went to that cute, antique shop/ burger joint on I35 for lunch--Centerpoint Station(?), and in the afternoon, headed up the street to Wonderworld Caverns for the afternoon. (The anti-gravity house was the big hit there.)

It turned out to be a great, age-appropriate day out, with a little education thrown in. There were no large crowds or long lines, and I don't remember the cost, so it must have been fairly reasonable. (As opposed to a major amusement park--geez!)

So, even I got to relax and enjoy the day. I loved the low-key charm of the whole experience...neither place tries to be something they are not. There is no slick marketing tie-in to national advertisers. They are just good, old-fashioned local amusement venues....a little cheesy, but a lot of fun!

Great post that I'd like to second! I'd definitely recommend going to Wonderworld Caverns if you make the trip to Aquarena. My 4 and 2 year old had a great morning out there - they loved the spooky caves and getting to feed the deer. It's not DisneyWorld, but sometimes kids don't need DisneyWorld!